Too little is worse than too much. In many cases
it is the writer's failure to include a few words describing a bit of
by-play or a short piece of business that makes the scenario faulty,
even though it may find a grudging acceptance.
_The Number of Words._--The question has frequently been asked by
amateur writers: "How many words are there in a full-reel
photoplay--what is the average number of words to a scene?" and so on.
No such consideration as the number of words in a script enters into
the production of a motion-picture drama. "Photoplays are put on,"
said one prominent producer, "with a stop-watch in one hand and a
yard-stick in the other." It is the number of feet of film used, and
not the number of words contained in the scenario, with which the
director is concerned. There can be absolutely no set rule--in from
ten to fifteen words you may say all that is necessary in the
description of a scene that will use up three hundred feet of film.
Another scene which consumes one hundred feet may require five times
as many words, or more, to make perfectly clear to the director a
short but very important bit of business. If you leave out the
non-essentials, you will save on the number of words, but you should
never hesitate to tell all that is necessary in order to make clear
the motives and actions of your characters.
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